Frank Keating facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frank Keating
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Keating in 2001
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| 25th Governor of Oklahoma | |
| In office January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003 |
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| Lieutenant | Mary Fallin |
| Preceded by | David Walters |
| Succeeded by | Brad Henry |
| United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | |
| In office 1992–1993 |
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| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Alfred A. DelliBovi |
| Succeeded by | Terrence R. Duvernay |
| United States Associate Attorney General | |
| In office 1988–1990 |
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| President | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Stephen S. Trott |
| Succeeded by | Wayne Budd |
| United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma | |
| In office 1981–1983 |
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| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Hubert H. Bryant |
| Succeeded by | Layn R. Phillips |
| Member of the Oklahoma Senate from the 38th district |
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| In office 1975–1981 |
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| Preceded by | Peyton A. Breckinridge |
| Succeeded by | Wayne Winn |
| Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 70th district |
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| In office 1973–1975 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Hancock |
| Succeeded by | Paul Brunton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
David Rowland Keating
February 10, 1944 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Catherine Heller
(m. 1972) |
| Children | 3, including Chip Keating |
| Education | |
Frank Keating (born February 10, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. He was the first Republican governor in Oklahoma to serve two terms in a row.
As governor, he led the state's response to the terrible Oklahoma City bombing. His time in office also saw big changes like welfare reform and tax cuts.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Frank Keating was born on February 10, 1944, in St. Louis, Missouri. His family moved to Tulsa before he was six months old. He attended Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, graduating in 1962.
Keating then went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.. He was very active there, serving as student body president and an editor for the school newspaper. He earned his degree in history in 1966. Later, he earned a law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1969. He was also student body president at the University of Oklahoma.
After law school, Frank Keating started working in law enforcement. He became a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He investigated important cases. Later, he returned to Tulsa to work as a district attorney.
State and Federal Government Roles
In 1973, Keating was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He served one term there. Then, in 1975, he was elected to the Oklahoma Senate, where he served until 1981. He became the leader of the minority party in the Senate.
Because of his background in law enforcement and his growing role in the Oklahoma Republican Party, President Ronald Reagan chose Keating to be the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He held this job from 1981 to 1983. During this time, he helped with a big investigation into public corruption in Oklahoma, which led to many people being found guilty.
President Reagan later appointed Keating to other important roles in the federal government. He became an assistant secretary of the Treasury and then an associate attorney general. These jobs made him one of the highest-ranking Oklahomans in the Reagan administration. In these roles, he oversaw many law enforcement agencies, including the United States Customs Service and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed Keating to be the general counsel and acting deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development. This was the second-highest position in that department. He served there until 1993.
Running for Governor
1994 Election Campaign
After working in the federal government, Keating decided to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 1994. He won the Republican nomination. In a race with a Democratic candidate and an independent candidate, Keating was elected with just under 47 percent of the votes. He became the 25th Governor of Oklahoma on January 9, 1995. He was only the third Republican to ever hold this position.
1998 Re-election Campaign
In 1998, Keating ran for re-election. He faced Laura Boyd, who was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for Oklahoma Governor. Keating won by a large margin. This made him the second governor in Oklahoma history to win two terms in a row, and the only Republican to do so until 2014.
Governor of Oklahoma: Key Actions
Responding to the Oklahoma City Bombing
Just three months after Keating became governor, on April 19, 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed by a bomb. This terrible event, known as the Oklahoma City bombing, killed 168 people and injured over 800. Many buildings were damaged, and hundreds of people lost their homes.
Governor Keating quickly organized rescue and relief teams. More than 12,000 people helped in the days after the bombing. People from all over the country and the world offered help. Governor Keating declared a state of emergency. This allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to send special search and rescue teams.
President Bill Clinton, Governor Keating, and Reverend Billy Graham spoke in Oklahoma City a few days after the bombing. In the weeks that followed, rescue efforts continued, and the damaged building was later taken down. Governor Keating and his wife, Cathy Keating, worked hard to help the victims and their families. Governor Keating also created a $6 million fund to help victims and provide college scholarships for children who lost a parent in the attack.
First Term Initiatives (1995-1999)
Governor Keating had many goals for Oklahoma. Even though the state legislature was often controlled by Democrats, many of his ideas were passed. His plans focused on growth and reform for the state. These included improving education, protecting the environment, cutting taxes, building roads, boosting the economy, and making public safety stronger.
One of Keating's first big successes was passing a welfare reform law in 1995. This law was the first of its kind in the nation and became a model for a similar federal law passed by President Clinton in 1996. Keating also managed to improve roads and highways across the state without raising taxes.
He made parole policies tougher and introduced new laws about sentencing for crimes. He also increased the salaries of Oklahoma's state troopers, moving them from the lowest paid in the nation to the 24th highest. Keating also created a special group to make stronger rules for Oklahoma's hog and poultry industries.
In 1998, Keating became the first governor in 50 years to achieve a state income tax cut. This, along with reductions in sales tax and other taxes, was the largest tax break in Oklahoma's history at that time.
Second Term Initiatives (1999-2003)
Keating's second term, starting in January 1999, focused a lot on education. In his speech, he set four goals for Oklahoma:
- Raising Oklahoma's ACT scores to the national average by 2005.
- Lowering Oklahoma's divorce rate by 50% before 2010.
- Ensuring one out of every three Oklahomans has a college degree by 2010.
- Raising Oklahoma's average income to reach the national average by 2025.
He increased spending for schools and colleges and brought charter schools to Oklahoma for the first time. His education plans led to the largest investment in higher education, over $100 million. In 2000, Keating also gave teachers their biggest pay raise ever, over $3000 annually. He also pushed for all Oklahoma students to take more years of math, English, history, and science before graduating.
Keating also worked to pass "right-to-work" laws, which affect labor unions. After a six-year effort, Oklahomans approved this measure in 2001. He also continued to push for tax cuts, including another income tax break and the creation of an earned income credit system to help lower-income families.
He signed a major bill that reformed criminal justice laws in Oklahoma. Keating also oversaw the largest road construction project in Oklahoma history and helped the state recover from severe tornadoes in 1999. A major achievement was raising over $20 million in private money to finally add a dome to the Oklahoma State Capitol, which had been planned but never completed due to funding issues during World War I.
Keating was prevented from running for a third term due to term limits. He was succeeded by Brad Henry as governor.
After Being Governor
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After his time as governor, Frank Keating wrote several children's books. These books were about famous American figures like Oklahoma humorist Will Rogers (2002), Theodore Roosevelt (2006), and George Washington (2012). He also wrote a book about the trial of Standing Bear (2008).
Keating also served on the boards of important organizations like the National Archives and Records Administration and Mt. Vernon. He became the president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, which is a group for the life insurance industry.
On January 1, 2011, Keating became the president and CEO of the American Bankers Association. This organization represents banks across the nation. He also worked on the Debt Reduction Task Force and Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
In 2016, Keating joined the law firm of Holland & Knight as a partner. In 2017, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin nominated him to serve on the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents.
Images for kids
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Keating in 2001
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Keating with Oklahoma Adjutant General Stephen Cortright in 2001
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Keating with FEMA Administrator Joe Allbaugh in 2002
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Keating with Dan Boren in 2006
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Keating in 2015
